Jerk,acceleration,and velocity limited position pattern generator for an elevator system



Aug. 4, 1970' JERK, ACCELERATION, AND VELOCITY LIMITED POSITION PATTERN GENERATOR FOR AN ELEVATOR SYSTEM Filed July 6, 1964 ll Sheets-Sheet 1 39 35 34 POSITION T 2- ANPuFlER VARIABLE PATTERN 2 A a VOLTAGE coNPuTER 4| 3a QOIPENSATORS DRIVE N 0.0. hr x PoNER CALL P v SELECTOR L umTs AccELERAnoN DESTINATION STOP SIGNAL DURING AccELERAnoN PREDICTED STOPPING PosmoN sLoNooNN INITIATED PATTERN msTANcE STOP slcNAL DURING NAx. VELOCITY RuN PATTERN msTANcE BETNEEN mo '0 MAX. VELOCITY INVENTORS oomvAN L. HALL mcNARo c. uosnaousn BY GERALD o. RoaAsmEmcz Aug. 4, 197 0 0. L. .HALL' ET 5 32 J'ERK,v ACCELERATION. AND VELOCITY LIMITED PQSITION PATTERN GENERATOR FOR AN ELEVATOR SYSTEM I Filed July 6. 1964 1 l1 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS- DQNIVAN L. HALL RICHARD c. Losn'aousu GERALD n. ROBASZKIEWICZ Aug. 4, 1970 o. L. HALL ETAL 3,5 3, 32

' JERK, ACCELERATION, AND VELOCITY LIMITED POSITION PATTERN GENERATOR FOR AN ELEVATOR SYSTEM Filed July 1964 I ll Sheets-Sheet 3 -l2 V.D.C. J T

3T BA I42 INVENTORS. DONIVAN L. HALL mcrmao c.. LOSHBOUGH BYGERALD n measzmswcz afti g .IERK, ACCELERATION AND VELOCITY LIMITED POSITION PATTERN GENERATOR FOR AN ELEVATOR SYSTEM 11 Sheets-Sheet 4.

Filed July 0. 1964 EN SN 9. u g 5 5 5 1 mwivv wnw 6 an 8 an I h m 3? W a, i an 8 an m W\ 2 a h bw 10.. g1) H ,L TL 2 we a. 2 d 8.

INVENTORS. DONIVAN L. HALL BYE'EW a LOSHBOUGH BOBASZKIEWICZ Aug. 4, 1970 o. L. HALL ETAL 3,523,232

JERK, \CCELERATION, AND VELOCITY LIMITED POSITION PATTERN GENERATOR FOR AN ELEVATOR SYSTEM Filed July 6, 1964 ll Sheets- Sheet 5 i I I I l I VELOCITY I I I I I l l I l I I (a b t 3 {2b *3 V is a fab vImPur T0 A2) I I i i I I I I I i Kl I I l on l I I I I I I I +8 I l I l I I I I I I I I i I I I I l v I I l I I I I I I K20 i 1 I I I I I I I i I I II I l I Y I I l L l l I I I EJ- i INVENTORS. DONIVAN L. HALL RICHARD c. LOSHBOUGH BY GERALD 0.- RoBAsmEwIcz JERK, ACCELERATION, AND VELOCITY LIMITED POSITION PATTERN GENERATOR FOR AN ELEVATOR SYSTEM Filed July 6, 1964 11 Sheets-Sheet 6 I Vmx VELOCITY I I I E jxf TIME r I I I r I WDISTANCES TIWELED v (mm m m I I I I Im THESE INTERVNS I I l v I I l l I i m I I I I I I OFF I I I I I f I I T I I I am I] I I I Ev I I l I I I I I I I I K2 I I I I EA I I I I I 1 I INVENTORS. DONIVAN L. HALL RICHARD C. LOSHBOUGH GERALD D. ROBASZKIEWIOZ ERK, ACCELERATION, AND VELOCITY LIMITED POSITION PATTERN GENERATOR FOR AN ELEVATOR SYSTEM Filed July 6, 1964 ll Sheets-Sheet '7 N Q m 3 N N) v a \3 0 Q a. m N Q I m 3 K a N 3 o u 1 g 2e 2 m a I l L N 2 9 B N Q a. '5, a a E 11 E 2 E '2 cu 1 L, NW '7:

I: 1 E N ws N Q- N N 8 #Q 1 E Z O IO 2 a 3 S N l 'q 7 a m N 3 l I INVENTORS DONIVAN L. HALL RICHARD C. LOSHBOUGH N N GQALD D. ROBASZKIE'ICZ Aug. 4, 1970 HALL ETAL 3,523,232

.IERK, ACCELERATION. AND VELOCITY LIMITED POSITION PATTERN GENERATOR FOR AN ELEVATOR SYSTEM Filed July 6. 1964 ll Sheets-Sheet 5 FEET TIME (SECONDS) INVENTORS.

DONIVAN L. mu. momma c. LOSHBOUGH BYGERALD o. ROBASZKIEIICZ Aug. 4, 1970 o. L. HALL ETA!- 3, 2

JERK, ACCELERATION. AND VELOCITY LIMITED POSITION PATTERN GENERATOR FOR AN ELEVATOR SYSTEM Aug. 4, 1970 HALL ETAL 3,523,232

JEHK, ACCELERATION, AND VELOCITY LIMITED POSITION PATTERN GENERATOR FOR AN ELEVATOR SYSTEM Filed July 6. 1964 ll Sheets-Sheet 10 '2(sL,+R,) sL R SJ INVENTORS. DONIVAN L. HALL l RICHARD C. LOSHBOUGH p GERALD o. nomszmcmcz l I I M MMM Aug. 4, 1970 Filed July 6. 1964 GAIN D.B.

GAIN 0.8.

RELATIVE GAIN QB.

D. L. HALL ET AL JERK, ACCELERATION, AND VELOCITY LIMITED POSITION PATTERN COMPOSITE 2 LAG-LEADS W OJ I FREQ. RADIANS l SECOND I I I uul N 1,") I I I m-I .OI m I I0 FREQ. RADIANS/ SECOND Ill] GENERATOR FOR AN ELEVATOR SYSTEM 11 SheetsSheet 11 QUAORATIC FREQ. RADIANS SECOND 2 LAC-LEADS Win M COMPOSITE .OI 0.| I

FRED. RADIANS I SECOND INVENTORS.

DMIVAN L. HALL RICHARD C. LOSHBOUGH I B GERALD D. ROBASZKIENICZ 3,523,232 Patented Aug. 4, 1970 3,523,232 JERK, ACCELERATION, AND VELOCITY LIMITED POSITION PATTERN GENERATOR FOR AN ELE- VATOR SYSTEM Donivan L. Hall, Richard C. Loshbough, and Gerald D.

Robaszkiewicz, Toledo, Ohio, assignors, by mesne assignments, to The Reliance Electric and Engineering Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed July 6, 1964, Ser. No. 380,385 Int. Cl. G05b 5/01 U.S. Cl. 318-611 25 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An elevator hoist motor control employing a high gain amplifier with suitable compensation to insure stability to apply a control signal derived from the difference between a time based commanded position signal and a signal representative of the actual car position. The commanded position signal is derived by two integrations as a function of time of a precisely defined commanded acceleration signal subject to constraints of constant rate of change of acceleration or jerk, acceleration, and velocity. Jerk, acceleration and velocity values are adjustable. Values of jerk, acceleration and velocity are utilized to compute the position at which the car would stop is ordered to stop at any instant during its travel. Correspondence of computed stop position and the destination of the car institutes a stop pattern without reference to the actual car position. Suitable controls are set forth to avoid unsafe operation.

This invention relates to positioning controls and more particularly as illustrated herein to controls for determining the position of a movable body such as an elevator.

Heretofore it has been known to control the position of movable bodies by establishing a command signal to which the driving element for the body responds. These systems have included some means to ascertain the position of the body and indicate to the driving means the difference between actual position and commanded position. As applied in the machine, tool art a number of means for generating position commands have been undertaken including punched tapes which control the steps in the drive elements for positioning the tool or body upon which the tool is working, magnetic tape records of con trol patterns, pattern developing devices which follow a particular physical configuration in the manner of a pantograph and fixed program devices which issue steps on a time basis or on a positional step by step basis. In this type of application the values of velocity and acceleration ordinarily are not precisely defined. Further relatively sharp transitions in velocity and acceleration as are tolerable in the limits of the operating tools or equipment are permitted and frequently are sought in the interest of expediting the processing by the tools. In some operations such as rolling mills even final position is not critical.

The present invention is illustrated as applied to elevator systems wherein much effort has been expended with respect to providing means to automatically position elevator cars. Past efforts in this area generally have followed a philosophy of utilizing timed steps discretely issued to an elevator hoist motor to control that motor. Such steps ordinarily are responded to rather sluggishly in order that they are not reflected in the riding characteristics of the elevator. A paramount consideration in high quality elevator service is the comfort of the passengers. These considerations impose limitations on the tolerable acceleration and rates of change of acceleration which can be applied. Also an elevator must be precisely positioned so that its floor is level with the landing threshold at which passengers are given the opportunity to transfer between the car and the landing. Floor to floor time is a major criteria of high caliber elevator service and maximum smooth acceleration is sought in achieving these rapid floor to floor times. The loadings imposed upon elevator controls extend over a wide range. They include in a counterbalanced elevator car, balanced loading, loading in excess of balance through a range from balance to full capacity and loadings less than balance over a substantial range. Thus in some instances the elevator,.car tends to overhaul the drive. In other instances the drive is required to haul the load. These loadings can occur in either direction of travel and therefore in the pasthave greatly complicated the problem of attaining uniform high quality operating characteristics for all ranges of loading and all directions of travel.

Attempts have been made to apply controls employing potentials representing desired position and potentials representing present position to elevators. Graham, US. Pat. 1,970,304 of Aug. 14, 1934 for Elevator and Like Apparatus, discloses a motor driven potentiometer as a call position indicator wherein a call causes the potentiometer contact to be driven against a mechanical stop which defines the effective location of the demand. The

elevator position controls a potentiometer which is connected into a bridge with the call location potentiometer. A given potential difference turns the hoist motor on to cause the car to be carried toward the call and to progressively reduce that difference. As the potential difference is reduced below a predetermined level a switch is operated to slow the hoist motor and when the car position potential balances the call position potential the car is stopped.

' The Graham type of control offered only coarse control of motor speed, responded to but one call at a time, it could not respond to supplemental calls which it passed in traveling to the call which placed it in operation, and it was quite inflexible.

A somewhat more refined control for elevators is disclosed in Bruns US. Pat. 2,699,226 of Jan. 11, 1955 for Elevator Control System. Bruns proposed balancing the signals from potentiometers representative of effective car position and call positions. The effective car position was defined by an actual car position potential plus an ad- Vance potential developed by a motor driven potentiometer which in essence placed the potential representative of car position in advance of actual car position an amount suflicient to permit the slowing and stopping of the car at a call producing a matching potential. The advance potential also determined the operation speed steps in a motor controller by actuating switches.

Systems of the type described require precise mechanical drives. They are relatively slow to respond to changed conditions. They do not lend themselves to continuous control of an elevator hoist motor but rather employ steps of control which must be damped if an acceptable ride, is to be obtained. Their operation is rigidly defined for a given system and requires substantial redesign and engineering for each system to which they are applied. They are based upon car position to determine their command signals.

A preferred elevator motor control has been a direct current motor having a variable voltage source for its armature and a shunt field winding that can be energized at a constant level or within some limited range of variation to provide speed control. This type of control has been subjected to much refinement and to the superposition of auxiliary equipment in an effort to achieve optimum and uniform riding characteristics. These have included numerous compensation means for variations in load, speed signal developing means which are fed back to the motor control, variable braking means dependent upon motor speed, supplemental motors to absorb some of the load torque particularly as the car 1s brought to a landing and regulating generators responding to many of the factors noted above including speed, loading and direction of travel.

Frequently such variable voltage controls have been adjusted to incipient instability in an effort to achieve the maximum characteristics wherein adjustment has been critical, requiring the efforts of highly skilled personnel to adjust and frequency re-adjust the system. Further, apparently identical lifting motors and lifting motor controls often require diflferent adjustments and provide different operating characteristics under identical conditions. These systems have been sensitive to temperature variations, to brush and commutator condition, to brush position and to aging.

It is an object of the present invention to generate a precise pattern for the positioning of a movable body as a function of time.

Another object is to selectively constrain the position pattern utilized in controlling the motion of a body to selectable values of velocity, acceleration and rate of acceleration.

Another object is to selectably establish maximum first, second and third time derivatives of displacement for a movable body.

A fourth object is to control precisely the position with respect to time of a movable body in response to a command signal.

A fifth object is to minimize the flight time between a starting and terminating position for any selected amount of travel and combination of a wide range of selected maximum velocity, selected acceleration and selected rate of change of acceleration of a movablebody.

Another object is to increase the accuracy of the determination of stopping distances for any length of run of a moving body.

A seventh object is to enable a moving body to respond to a signal requiring its stop or deceleration while in transit and up to the last possible instant that the body can respond to that signal within the constraints of the velocity, acceleration and rate of change of acceleration imposed upon the system. I

An eighth object of the invention as applied to elevators is to accommodate any travel of an elevator between landings over any length of total travel.

Another object is to simplify the adjusting procedures required to establish the operating parameters of a system driving a movable body.

Another object is to stabilize the conditions imposed upon a control system for a moving body whereby drift of operating characteristics and deterioration of such characteristics with time is avoided.

Another object is to suppress or eliminate the effects of unbalanced load, hysteresis, non-linearities of elements, deviations due to manufacturing tolerances and the effects of temperature and line voltage variations on the control of elevator hoist motors.

A further object is to enable any of a plurality of different driving devices to be controlled by a common type of pattern control, and particularly as applied to elevators to enable the substitution of elevator hoist motors of various ratings in accordance with the dictates of the specifications applicable to the elevator installation with assurance that the control will afford operating characteristics up to the limits of the capability of the hoist motor.

In accordance with the above objects, one feature of this invention involves a displacement vs. time pattern signal generator having internal logic and programming to mathematically integrate preselected limiting values of the first, second and third derivative of displacement to generate the optimum position command signal for such values. Included within the signal generator are limiting means to define the maximum levels of velocity, the first derivative of displacement, acceleration, the second derivative of displacement, and rate of change of acceleration, the third derivative of displacement.

A second feature of the invention involves a stopping distance computer including logic means for accepting or rejecting stopping commands received while the movable element responding to the displacement vs. time computer is in transit. The position of the body relative to the location along its path of travel of the stop for which the stopping command was issued, the velocity of the body and the limitations on acceleration and rate of change of acceleration are considered in the logic decisions involved in ascertaining the stopping distance. This computer accommodates any state of movement in which the body may be at the time the moving body should accept or reject a stopping command, that is, the body can be moving at its maximum velocity, it can be in its accelerating condition, and it can be changing its acceleration. In each of these circumstances the stopping distance computer takes into consideration the velocity of the body and the limits on the acceleration which can be imposed and the rate of change of acceleration which can be imposed so that the transition to a stopping mode is made at the last possible instant, thereby insuring that the most rapid transit available within the constraints imposed upon the system will be realized.

Another feature resides in equipment for determining the optimum point as the command signal approaches the stop to transfer from an initial positioned based command signal to a final position based command signal and means for effecting this transfer without discontinuity in the command signal as issued to the driving means.

Another feature resides in matching the equipment of the aforenoted features with existing elevator equipment to provide a compatible system having a wide range of applicability.

An additional feature involves a closed loop position servo system for an elevator hoist motor employing unique compensating networks to stabilize the system with needed DC gain and to provide the required bandwidth with adequate phase margin to force the elevator to accurately reproduce the computed position command signal.

One embodiment of the invention illustrating the above and additional features comprises an elevator system including an elevator car serving a plurality of landings in response to the registration of calls for service. The elevator car is driven by a direct current motor having a separately excited shunt field and a variable voltage supply for its armature. One suitable supply is a-Ward- Leonard system including a direct current generator having its armature connected to the motor armature and a shunt field which is supplied from a suitable source such as a group of controlled rectifiers. Phase control of the rectifiers is provided by a firing circuit which enables both the direction and magnitude of current in the shunt field to be controlled.

An amplifier provides a signal which controls the firing circuits and is coupled with a compensator eifectively comprising two lag-lead networks, and two lead-lag networks, one of which can be supplanted by a hoist motor speed feedback signal, to provide the proper phase and gain of the signal as a function of signal frequency whereby the D.C. gain can be at a high level. Control of the signal is by means of a position error signal. Hence the DC. gain of the forward loop must be sufficient to reduce the position error of the elevator car caused by unbalanced loads to acceptable limits.

The error signal is in the form of a voltage derived from the comparison of a car position voltage and a position as a function of time command voltage. The car position voltage can be developed in a potentiometer driven by car motion as by a cable coupling to the car and may be in the form of a helix having its contactor driven in a helical path relative to its card. The command voltage is generated in a computer.

Position as a function of time is computed by developing a potential difference between an initial car position voltage, X and a call request voltage, Xcr, which is characteristic of the voltage the car position potentiometer would issue if the car were at the location of the request. The sign of this difference voltage indicates the direction of the call from the car, positive being above and negative below. The effective magnitude of this voltage is limited by a bidirectional clamp circuit which fixes an absolute level characteristic of the maximum velocity of the elevator car. This velocity limit can be adjusted by adjustment of the clamping circuit. The clamped signal results in a stepped input which is integrated and clamped by a second clamping circuit to produce a ramp. The slope of the ramp represents the acceleration constraints, both positive and negative, and can be adjusted by adjustment of the clamp voltage level. The ramp signal is differentiated to produce a step signal subject to the velocity and acceleration constraints and this signal is integrated subject to limits imposed by a third clamp which defines the positive and negative limits on the rate of change of acceleration or jerk to produce a ramp signal to and from the acceleration limit which signal persists for the period required to generate the velocity limit. This signal is the command signal acceleration pattern.

The command signals are derived from the acceleration pattern as a velocity as a function of time by integrating the signal with respect to time and as a displacement as a function of time by a second integration with respect to time.

In order to achieve the requisite landing accuracy the base for the command pattern is shifted to the destination signal at a time when the transfer can be made without a discontinuity in that signal. The command pattern as generated above results in an initial period of constant rate of change of acceleration to a maximum acceleration which continues for a second period until the predetermined maximum velocity is approached, a third period of transition from maximum acceleration to maximum velocity at the rate of change of acceleration, a period of constant velocity, as slowdown is initiated, a fifth period of constant rate of change of acceleration to a maximum negative acceleration, and a period of maximum negative acceleration. Rather than make the transition from maximum negative acceleration to zero velocity at the prescribed rate of change of acceleration, at the time this change is to occur, the pattern is transferred to a signal based upon its distance from the destination and permitted to approach the destination signal level as a function of time, for example as an exponential decay.

The above described pattern can be modified while retaining the constraints of acceleration and rate of change of acceleration for a displacement command less than that required to achieve maximum velocity. When slowdown is initiated during acceleration, the rate of change of acceleration continues through zero acceleration in a smooth transition to negative acceleration.

The elevator control of the illustrative embodiment employs the above described command signal with a stop computer which permits optimum patterns within the acceleration, velocity and rate of change of acceleration constraints imposed. This computer generates a stop position signal and compares it with the destination signal so that the creation of a predetermined relationship of those signals initiates a stopping operation. Three stopping modes are possible: one from maximum velocity, one from acceleration, and one from the transition between acceleration and maximum velocity. The latter form of stop is treated in the same manner as a stop from maxi mum velocity since the rate of change of acceleration constraints carry the command signal through the maximum velocity if the stop is initiated during that change. In that stopping operation the command continues to change at the defined rate from a positive to a negative acceleration.

A stop from maximum velocity is computed by storing the displacement signal generated in achieving maximum velocity and comparing that signal with the distance remaining to be traversed. This distance is ascertained by subtracting from the destination signal the pattern position signal. When the monitored difference equals the stored signal the transition to deceleration is initiated.

A stop from acceleration is computed by continuously generating the instantaneous stopping position signal during acceleration and comparing it with the destination signal. This computation is made in terms of the initial position signal for the run, the current command signal position, the current command signal velocity, the maximum acceleration setting, and the maximum rate of change of acceleration setting.

The sensing of the destination signal is arranged to enable the command signal to respond to any service demand encountered for a stopping station to which the elevator can be brought to a stop within the acceleration and rate of change of acceleration constraints. At the initiation of a command signal generation, a predetermined station is designated as the destination and a signal therefor generated. Conveniently, a terminal landing can be the destination. As the command signal develops, the stop registering devices for its range of response are sampled. Thus if a command signal has developed two landings of displacement and the computed stopping distance at this moment is two landings, the calls for the fourth landing from the initiation position will be monitored at that moment. If a call is sensed, the system accepts it and initiates a stop sequence for the command signal. If, however, the call was imposed after the elevator could be stopped within its acceleration and rate of change of acceleration constraints, the call would be rejected and the pattern would continue to develop. Once a call is accepted, the destination signal is transferred to the landing of that call and is held until the car has stopped in response to the command signal.

The above and additional objects and features of this invention will be appreciated more fully from the following detailed description when read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an elevator control system utilizing this invention;

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a command signal generator for producing a signal representative of computed position as a function of time;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an and circuit and Schmitt trigger employed together for and logic and an or circuit as represented by the logic symbols of FIGS. 3a and 311 respectively;

FIG. 4 is a schematic of a differential amplifier, and the logic symbol for such an amplifier is shown in FIG. 4a;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of chopper stabilized amplifier utilizing in part logic symbols, and FIG. 5a is the logic symbol for such an amplifier;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a transistor power switch and FIG. 6a is the logic symbol employed therefor;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an amplifier and Schmitt trigger combined to indicate the presence or absence of an absolute value of a signal and arranged to adapt certain of the signals to the logic functions utilized in the circuits set forth;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a buffer amplifier to adapt certain signals to the logic functions;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a command signal generator according to this invention as depicted in FIG. 2 and utilizing logic symbols as illustrated above;

FIG. 10 is a plot against time of velocity, certain relay functions entering into the logic of this control, and a num- 7 her of voltages as they appear at various positions in the command signal generator shown in FIG. 9, as those wave forms appear for a full speed run;

FIG. 11 is a series of curves corresponding to those of FIG. for a short run where full speed is not reached;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of the stopping distance computer according to this invention as it is combined with the command signal generator of FIG. 9;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of the stopping distance computer of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of an acceleration definer utilized in marking the end of acceleration on the signal generated by the signal generator of FIG. 9;

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of means programming the control during changes in acceleration;

FIG. 16 is a plot against time of the slowdown distance, the displacement, the velocity, the acceleration and the rate of change of acceleration for a typical elevator controlled according to the present invention;

FIG. 17 is an across-the-line diagram of certain relay circuitry utilized in adapting the logic circuitry of the previously described elements to existing elevator controls;

FIG. 18 is a call checking and accepting circuit schematic for an elevator control utilizing the command signal generator and stopping distance computer of FIGS. 9 and 13;

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a position loop control as applied to an elevator control;

FIG. 20 is a compensation network as utilized in the system represented in the block diagram of FIG. 20;

FIGS. 21 through 24 are plots on a semi-logarithmic basis of gain and phase shift plotted against frequency in radians per second to show the open loop characteristics of an elevator system to which this invention might be applied; and

FIG. 25 is a semi-logarithmic plot of relative gain against frequency in radians per second showing the characteristics achieved in an elevator system utilizing this invention.

The present invention has been illustrated as applied to an elevator system functionally depicted in the block diagram of FIG. 1. In that system a hoist motor 31, which advantageously from the standpoint of speed control can be a DC. motor having a separately energized shunt field winding and an armature supplied for speed control from a variable voltage source, drives an elevator car 32. Car 32 is counterweighted as at 33 to compensate for some suitable portion of the rated load of the car, ordinarily 40% of rated load, whereby the load is fully counterweighed when loaded to 40% of capacity, is less than counterbalanced when loaded in excess of 40%, and is overbalanced when loaded to less than 40% of rated capacity. Control of hoist motor speed is determined from a variable voltage source 34 which in the discussion to follow will be a direct current generator having its armature driven from a suitable prime mover at a constant speed and its shunt field current varied to control the voltage it applies to the motor armature, in accordance with well known Ward-Leonard principles. The shunt field of the generator may be supplied from any suitable source as for example a group of silicon controlled rectifiers having phase control firing circuits. Control of the firing circuits or other mechanism for establishing the current flow in the shunt field of the generator is afi'orded by an amplifier and compensator represented by the rectangle 35.

The amplifier and compensator are so arranged as to afford a relatively high forward gain and a controlled amount of phase shift, whereby the gain is attenuated at frequencies where the system tends to become unstable. The forward loop in which the amplifier and compensator operate extends from summing point 38 through a car position signaling means represented by the potentiometer 36 which issues a voltage on lead 37 representative of car position throughout all positions of travel of the car. The signal on lead 37 is introduced at summing point 38 and is combined with a command signal which commands a car position with time based upon the actuating impulses imposed upon the elevator system. This command is derived from the position pattern generator 39 over lead 41 extending into the summing point 38. From the summing point 38 the error signal resulting from the comparison of the car position signal and the command signal is applied over lead 42 to the amplifier and compensator 35.

Details of the elements outlined above will be set forth in the following description. However, it should be recog nized that control stimuli such as calls registered on the conventional car buttons located within the elevator car and those registered at landing buttons for the landings which the elevator car is capable of serving dispatchers for starting cars from stations, and such known features as stops for high car reversal, high call reversal, late car reversal and the like require flexibility in the form of the pattern to be generated. Stimuli placing the position pattern generator in operation can be considered a call request applied to the pattern generator over lead 43 from a call selector 44. The function of the call selector generally is to ascertain the location of landings along the path of travel at which service is required by the elevator car sufficiently in advance of the arrival of the car at the landing to permit the car to be slowed and stopped by a command position signal generated in the position pattern generator meeting the constraints of maximum velocity, maximum acceleration and maximum rate of change of acceleration set into the generator. The position of the call request or destination of the elevator is indicated to the pattern generator as a potential off the string of resistors 45 arranged as a potentiometer with fixed points corresponding to landing positions available to the input to the call selector. The potentiometer 36 and the resistor string 45 are supplied from the same power supply, not shown, connected to terminal 46 and have their opposite ends grounded.

The pattern computer normally remains dormant so long as its output signal represented as a voltage appearing on lead 41 is of the same level as the input voltage derived from the call selector 44 and applied on lead 43. If this input voltage differs from the output of the pattern computer, the, computer will, subject to its own control, alter its own output until agreement has been reached. Typically the input will differ from the output only when a new floor position has been called for by the imposition of a demand for elevator service. Thus when a new floor voltage is connected to the computer, the computer generates the position-time pattern required to regain the equality of input to output. .In the process the hoist motor for the elevator car is supplied a position-time pattern which it will follow to a new floor position. In advancing its output to the desired new value, the computer regulates the generated position-time pattern in such a manner that the first, second and third time derivatives of displacement are limited and subject to adjustment. The first derivative can be considered the command signal for velocity of the hoist motor and the car, the second derivative can be considered the acceleration and the third derivative can be considered the rate of change of acceleration or jerk.

The negative feedback in the system aiforded by applying the car position signal to the summing point in combination with the command position signal provides a high degree of accuracy in the positioning of an elevator subject to no unbalanced load. Since the system responds to an input displacement command, it regulates its output displacement accordingly by comparison of its output position to its input command and utilizes the amplification of the difference or error as derived from the summing point, unbalanced loads will cause errors. However loop gain in a system utilizing position feedbackreduces the displacement errors caused by unbalanced loads. Thus in this system gain requirements are set by the unbalanced load to be imposed upon the elevator and the amount of displacement from the landing that is tolerable for maximum unbalanced load. It is when the forward loop gain has been increased to a level reducing the amount of displacement for maximum unbalanced load or the position error for maximum unbalanced load to negligible levels that the system tends to become unstable unless compensators are utilized. Compensation can be obtained by employing suitable lag-lead and lead-lag networks or a combination of lead-lag and lag-lead networks in a composite network.

In the system under consideration suitable accuracy is obtained as to car position by they use of a multi-turn potentiometer corresponding to the potentiometer 36 coupled to the elevator car as by means of a driving cable from the potentiometer to the car to cause rotation of the potentiometer contactor as the car is moved along its path of travel. While the potentiometer has been proposed, it is to be understood that any scheme which could provide a voltage or voltage ratio proportional to car position would be satisfactory in a system of this nature provided stability and resolution were compatible with a requirement of at least plus or minus one-tenth inch positioning accuracy.

Before considering the position time pattern generator a general discussion of the operating theory of a position pattern will be presented. A primary consideration in this presentation is the comfort and safety of human beings conveyed by the moving equipment. Therefore this pattern and the limitations imposed thereon are presented in terms of its utilization with an elevator. However, it is to be appreciated that the general concepts involved are not limited to elevators and have a substantially greater range of application. For example, they can be employed in train control operations or the pattern can be modified to adapt it to suitable machine control functions.

An examination of the possible transitions of pattern voltage where pattern voltage represents position reveals immediately that a transition at a linear rate representing constant car velocity could not be tolerated since the initiation and termination of the motion commanded would require infinite acceleration. Therefore a transition should include a period of acceleration at the initiation of motion and a deceleration at the termination of motion. Passenger comfort dictates that acceleration must not exceed some limits. In elevator applications four feet per second per second is considered quite acceptable. If extremely low accelerations are employed, changes in velocity will be imperceptible. However, in the interest of utilizing the elevator equipment efficiently by completing the run between two stations as rapidly as possible, high rates of acceleration should be employed.

With a finite and constant acceleration, however, the rate of change of acceleration or jerk at the initiation and termination of the acceleration periods would be infinite. This also creates an uncomfortable and possibly dangerous condition. Accordingly, a further constraint is that the rate of change of acceleration must be finite and not exceed a selected limit. Again in the interest of efficient utilization of equipment, a rapid rate of change of acceleration should be employed. A rateof eight feet per second is acceptable for elevator applications.

In elevator utilizations excellent riding characteristics can be achieved employing constant jerk or rate of change of acceleration from zero speed through a transition period to a period of constant acceleration until the maximum velocity is approached, at which point a constant negative value of rate of change of acceleration is utilized to enter the constant maximum velocity portion of the run. Once full speed has been attained, it is maintained until it is appropriate to initiate the slowdown, such slowdown being accomplished by a transition at a constant negative rate of change of acceleration to constant negative acceleration which is permitted to extend over a period necessary to approach zero speed and the transition from this negative acceleration to zero speed can be made at a constant positive rate of change of acceleration. A plot of velocity vs. time for this form of a pattern is depicted in the uppermost curve of FIG. 10. Advantageously, from the standpoint of symmetry in the control of motion where both directions of travel must be controlled, the absolute limits of rate of change of acceleration can have equal magnitude as can the absolute limits of acceleration and velocity. The curve referred to in Fig. 10 may be integrated and the result can represent a command pattern for an ascending elevator car. A descending elevator car would have an inverted pattern around the origin. The lowermost curve in FIG. 10 corresponds to a plot of rate of change of acceleration or jerk and the next upper curve labeled E represents acceleration under the jerk constraints, illustrating a linear rate of increase of acceleration to the maximum, a flatting and then the termination of acceleration at a linear rate to zero as the maximum velocity portion of the motion is approached.

These constraints imposed upon the system can be considered from a mathematical point of view in terms of displacement. Thus it should be recognized that velocity is the first derivative of displacement with respect to time, acceleration is the second derivative of dispalcement with respect to time and rate of change of acceleration or jerk is the third derivative of displacement with respect to time. Accordingly, if the optimum jerk curve, the curve of the third derivative of displacement with respect to time, is integrated, an acceleration curve subject to velocity, acceleration and jerk constraints corresponding to the plot B in FIG. 10 will be obtained. An integration of the acceleration curve corresponding to the curve labeled E in FIG. 10 produces a velocity curve subject to velocity, acceleration and jerk constraints. A third integration yields a displacement vs. time function with it again meeting the constrains of jerk, acceleration and velocity.

In FIG. 2 a functional block diagram of a position vs. time pattern or command signal generator is illustrated. This system is represented as an acceleration generator 51 which generates a voltage signal corresponding to the signal E of FIG. 10 for a full speed run and where maximum velocity is not attained E of FIG. 11. The acceleration generator is subject to constraints of jerk imposed upon lead 52, acceleration applied from lead 53, and velocity applied from lead 54. It issues over lead 55 a voltage representing acceleration which is applied to a first integrator 56 to produce a velocity time function of the form shown in the uppermost curve of FIG. 10. This voltage signal is applied over lead 57 to a second integrator 58 which produces the desired position vs. time voltage form on lead 41 as utilized at the summing point 38 shown in FIG. 1.

A detailed schematic diagram of the position vs. time signal generator is set forth in FIG. 9 employing a number of logic symbols in place of the detailed circuit elements. Accordingly, before proceeding with a discussion of this schematic the individual elements corresponding to those logic symbols will be disclosed.

In FIG. 3 a schematic diagram is shown of a circuit which with minor modifications can be utilized as either an and represented by the symbol in FIG. 3a or an or represented by the symbol in FIG. 3b. When functioning as an and, the double pole signal throw switch DPST is left in the position shown whereby terminals 61 and 62 function as typical and inputs. To condition the system as an or, the switch DPST is transferred to its second position whereby the terminal 62 is grounded and terminal 63 is placed as a parallel input with terminal 61 to constitute with 61 two typical or inputs. The and circuit as utilized below is a composite of an and controlling a Schmitt trigger made up of the circuit to the right of junction 60 in FIG. 3 and represented in FIG. 3a as a separate rectangle. The Schmitt trigger is not essential to the or" functions; hence it is frequently restricted to the junction 50 as its output and is so illustrated by the symbol of FIG. 3b.

Each of the and and or input terminals is connected through a diode 64 and a resistor 65 to a minus 12 volts supply (not shown) as at terminal 66 and in the case of the and to a Schmitt trigger through suitable conditioning diodes 67 and 68 to a voltage divider made up of resistors 69 and 71 to the base of transistor Q1. Transistors Q1 and Q2 are the active elements of a Schmitt trigger providing an on output lead 72 and an inverse or off output lead 73 represented for an and function in FIG. 3a by the lead extending from the main portion of the square symbol and the lead extending from the cross hatched corner of the main symbol respectively. On input and output signals from this circuit are represented by a grounded state while an essentially 12 volt collector bias is an off signal. Thus if a ground is absent from any of the and inputs, transistor Q1 is conducting and the output lead 73 is effectively at the grounded level to provide an on on the inverse output. At this time the voltage divider formed from the minus 12 volt supply terminal 74 through collector resistor 75, resistor 76, the base of Q2 and resistor 77 maintains the base of Q2 essentially at ground and therefore Q2 non-conductive so that the normal output 72 of the and circuit is at the collector potential and effectively 01f.

When all of the input terminals in the and circuit are grounded, transistor Q1 is turned off and the and output lead 73 is at the eifective collector potential of minus 12 volts less the drop in resistor 75 or the offcondition. Under these conditions, the base of transistor Q2 is sufliciently negative to place that transistor in its on condition so that its collector potential is essentially at ground and output 72 is in the on or grounded state.

When set for operation as an or circuit with switch DPST closed, a ground imposed on any of or inputs 61, 63 or their equivalent transfers junction 50 from the 12 volts applied at terminal 66 to ground thereby offering an on output from the or to any following logic elements.

FIG. 4 is the schematic diagram of a differential amplifier represented by the logic symbol or FIG. 4a. Plate voltage is applied to the two triodes 81 and 82 from a suitable source connected to the terminal 83, and cathode voltage is applied to both triodes at terminal 84. Each of the two tubes act as a cathode follower driving the cathode of the other tube. The output is derived as a potential across the terminals 85 and 86 and can be established without regard to ground. Inputs represented by the plus and minus signs in the symbol of FIG. 4 are respectively shown to the grids of tubes 81 and 82 from leads 87 and 88. This type of amplifier has a number of advantages including the ability to issue an output voltage either with or without sign reversal referred to the input voltage, and the ability to mix two voltages by taking their difierence. As illustrated in the symbol of FIG. 4a, when the output is taken from the lead 86 an inversion will be realized in the signal as applied to the input lead 88 while no inversion occurs when the input is applied at 87.

While differential amplifiers are self stabilizing to a substantial degree, where maximum stabilization is desired, their characteristics can be enhanced by chopper stabilization in the manner depicted in FIG. 5. The logic symbol for a chopper stabilized amplifier is illustrated in FIG. a. Chopper stabilization is achieved by connecting an inverting, high gain, carrier modulated amplifier, whose output has been demodulated, between the positive and negative input as represented by the chopper modulated amplifier 91 connected from input terminal 92 to the positive input 93 of the conventional differential amplifier illustrated in FIG. 4. Input 92 is connected to the negative input of the amplifier 94 through condenser 95. Thus only one external input is available to a chopper stabilized amplifier as shown in the logic symbol of FIG. 5a and chopper stabilized output derived on lead 96 is inverted.

FIG. 6 represents a transistor power switch having a symbol utilized in the schematic diagrams as shown in FIG. 6 The switch comprises a PNP transistor Q3 having an input 101 to its base through the voltage divider provided by series resistor 102 and ground resistor 103. The emitter of the transistor is connected through a diode 104 to ground. The collector is connected through the element to which the switch is applied, in the present application, relay coils, as at terminals 105 and 106 to a terminal 107 connected to a suitable source of collector voltage as a 12 volt supply not shown. A diode 108 is connected across the switch load.

The circuit of FIG. 7 is utilized to provide an output signal as ground representing on on its normal output lead 111'and a -12 volt signal representing off on its inverse output lead 112 any time a signal other than zero is present on its input lead 114. The absence of a signal on input lead 114 inverts the conduction states placing an on or ground signal on lead 112 and an off or -12 volt signal on lead 111. The amplifier comprises a section including transistors Q4, Q5, Q6 and Q7 which control a Schmitt trigger including transistors Q8 and Q9 providing the outputs. The circuit will best be understood by a consideration of its operation.

When a positive signal with respect to ground is applied to input 114, transistors Q4 and Q5 are non conductive. Since there is no drop in the collector resistors 116 and 117 of these transistors, the base of each of transistors Q6 and Q7 are at l2 volts and these transistors are placed in conduction. Since Q7 is conducting, its collector and junction point 118 are essentially at ground. This ground prevents conduction in transistor Q8 since it is below the operating threshold which must be passed through diodes 119 to establish the threshold voltage imposed on the base of transistor Q8. The voltage divider composed of resistances 122, 123 and 124 establishes a negative bias on base Q9 which causes that transistor to be conductive. This effectively grounds collector Q9 since the collector voltage drop occurs in resistance 126, and terminal 111 issues a ground. This neglects the resistance of emitter resistor 121 which is small compared to collector resistor 126. Condenser 125 bypasses the resistor 123 and this speeds up the switching action. The collector voltage at the collector of Q8 is reflected in the inverse output 112 as an oif signal.

Application of a negative voltage with respect to ground at input 114 causes both of transistors Q4 and Q5 to be conductive by reducing the base potential sufficiently to exceed the emitter bias of diode 128 on Q4. This bias is developed in the path from bus 113 to ground afiorded by resistor 127 and diode 128. Diodes 132. and 133 provide protection for the base-emitter junctions of Q4 and Q5. With Q4 and Q5 conductive, their collectors are at ground and transistors Q6 and Q7 are nonconductive. Junction 118 floats under these conditions and no signal is available to place transistor Q8 in conduction. Therefore the conditions described for a positive input at 114 prevail in the Schmitt trigger and ground appears at 111 while inverse output 112 is off.

If zero voltage is applied to input 114, it results in conduction in transistor Q5 while transistor Q4 is nonconductive. Under these conditions the voltage drop through emitter resistor 127 and diode 128 is such that emitter Q4 is negative with respect to its base and that therefore the transistor is off, while transistor Q5 has its emitter at ground and its base at a negative voltage due to the connection from bus 113 through resistance 130 and is conductive. This places base Q7 at ground while that of Q6 is at l2 volts. Since transistor Q7 has its emitter biased negatively with respect to ground through the voltage divider provided by resistor 129 and the forward drop of diode 131, Q7 is non-conductive. Q6, however, is conductive and therefore imposes a base voltage on transistor Q8 which is determined by the ratio of the voltage drop in resistors 134 and 135, the forward drop in diodes 119, and the drop in resistor 1'36. This base voltage is suflicient to place transistor Q8 in conduction whereby the base potential on Q9 is reduced to make Q9 non-conductive. Under these conditions a ground appears on inverse output lead 112 and a 12 volts appears on output 111.

The circuit of FIG. 7 thus monitors the absolute value of an input on 114 if that input is above a threshold level. It is termed an absolute value circuit below and has been assigned the symbol in FIG. 7a where the inverse output issues from the corner square with the crossed diagonals.

The buffer amplifier on FIG. 8 is employed in a number of locations in the system diagrams. It includes an input lead 141 and an output lead 142 which issues a ground signal when the input receives a signal which is positive with respect to ground and issues a negative voltage signal signifying an off output when the input receives a negative voltage with respect to ground. A positive voltage on 141 is applied through input resistors 143 and 144 to the base of Q to insure that that transistor is non-conductive. The emitter of transistor Q10 is connected to ground at bus 145. The emitter-base junction is provided with back voltage protection by the diode 146. The collector of Q10 is supplied with l2 volts at bus 147 through collector resistor 148. With transistor Q10 non-conductive, its collector is essentially at 12 volts and this voltage is applied to the base of transistor Q11 to cause that transistor to enter its conductive state. While conductive, the collector of transistor Q11 is essentially grounded since the preponderance of the collector voltage supplied from lead 147 is dissipated in collector resistor 149. Accordingly, the ground at the collector appears at the output lead 142 as an on signal.

Next consider the application of a negative signal at input 141. This signal, when applied to the base of Q10, turns on the transistor to ground its collector thereby grounding the base of transistor Q11. An emitter bias is provided for Q11 through resistor 151 connected to lead 147 and voltage regulating diode 152, whereby the emitter is always maintained somewhat negative with respect to ground. In this condition of bias the transistor is nonconductive. Accordingly, the potential appearing on bus 147 is developed at output lead 142 to signify an off or negative output voltage signal.

The circuit is made insensitive to small reductions in positive input voltage at or near the on threshold by resistor 153 which requires a reduction of at least 10 percent below the turn on voltage to invert the conduction state.

The circuit of FIG. 8 is illustrated in a number of locations as a buffer amplifier in the schematic system diagrams and is symbolized as a rectangle labeled BA.

The position-time signal generator as shown schematically in FIG. 9 will now be considered. As indicated in the block diagram of FIG. 2, the first element of the position time signal generator is an acceleration generator. The acceleration generator consists of two basically similar circuits. The first circuit combines the velocity and acceleration constraints. The second circuit imposes the rate of change of acceleration with time constraints.

A pattern is generated when a difference is indicated to the generator between the current position signal of the generator for the object being controlled, in the illustration, an elevator, and the position to which it is desired to transfer the object. In the elevator example, the

existence of a call for service at a landing remote from that signal which the generator indicates is the current location of the elevator will produce such a signal. If the initiation or current position of the object as signaled by the command generator can be represented by a voltage X and the desired or destination location represented by a voltage X those two voltages can be applied through suitable resistors 161 and 162 to the positive and negative input terminals of differential amplifier A1. The amplifier mixes and amplifies the two voltages by taking their dilference and issuing it as a signal through resistor 163 to junction 164 from which it is fed through resistor 165 to differential amplifier A2 positive input. The signal from junction point 164 is clamped by the action of diodes 168 and 169 connected thereto with reverse polarities and coupled to respective adjustable voltage sources 154 and 155 of a polarity opposite that of the conductive direction through the diodes and of equal magnitude whereby plus and minus limits on the level of the signal representative of velocity can be imposed at the junction 164. The adjustable voltage sources are shown as batteries connected across potentiometers in the illustration although alternative forms of regulated limiting voltages are available.

The logic of the functions to be described below requires an indication of the existence of a velocity signal without regard to its polarity as derived from an absolute value circuit of the type shown in FIG. 7 represented as AV1 in the drawing. Circuit AV1 issues a signal when either a plus or minus difference exists between the input signals X and X to amplifier A1. Similarly, a buffer amplifier BA1 corresponding to the amplifier shown in FIG. 8, is connected to the junction point 164 to issue an on signal for a plus velocity and an off signal for a minus velocity. A positive velocity indicates an up command signal while a negative velocity indicates a down command signal. The existence of, and the polarity of, a difference of the signals X and X and the resultant velocity signal are sensed at the junction 164 by these circuits. Further, this signal which represents the velocity to be commanded by the system is limited to a voltage proportional to the plus or the minus maximum velocity limits as set by the voltages applied to the diodes 168 and 169. For purposes of aiding the understanding of the logic circuits of FIGS. 13, 14, 15 and 18 the signals from AV1 have been indicated as lVI indicating an absolute value of V (without regard to sign) and from BA1 as iV indicating a plus or minus value of V.

The velocity signal issuing from A2 is amplified in accordance with the gain of amplifier A2 as set by the value of resistors 166 and 167. Signal from A2 is passed through resistor 171, relay contact K2-1 and resistor 172 to the chopper stabilized amplifier A3, from which it is fed back through resistor 173 to the input of differential amplifier A2. Each of amplifiers A2 and A3 have a high gain. The resistors and 173 provide a negative feedback loop with a feedback ratio B equal to R165/R173+R165 If the signal issuing from the output of amplifier A3 is designated 1:3,, and the signal at the junction 174 between resistors 171 and 172 is designated E it can be shown that E, is related to the velocity voltage V by the relationship 15 value circuit AV2 is coupled at junction 174 to provide an output'indicative of the presence of an acceleration component in the pattern being generated and the inverse of the presence of an acceleration component. An acceleration component issues a ground on lead Ia] and no component issues a ground on lead 151. Thus the ability of the pattern generator when a step input is applied to follow the step input is limited by the clamping action of the diodes to plus or minus the magnitude of the voltage setting a. The capacitor 177 connected between the output and input of amplifier A3 provides an integrating function in cooperation with resistor 172 so that for a high gain amplifier A3 having a gain of from 10 to 10 1 E.,=- f dnz 'm t For constant values of E Ev 172 l77 Since E is limited to plus or minus a, the expression of E, becomes i=0. E and therefore a will persist until E =V at which time E becomes zero.

Plots of the various signals experienced in the circuit of FIG. 9 are shown in FIG. for a displacement of a suflicient magnitude to enable the moving object to attain its maximum rated speed. Thus the signal issuing from amplifier A6 as a result of the combining of the input signals X and X as limited by the diodes 168 and 169, is depicted as V on the curve. This signal when applied to the amplifier A2 produces a signal E at junction 174 as shown in the plot wherein E, has a finite value during the period of acceleration and deceleration. Further the voltage E as it issues from the chopper stabilized amplifier A3 appears as shown in FIG. 10 as an acceleration limited velocity curve with infinite rate of change of acceleration or jerk at the initiation of the curve, t at the breakover to maximum value t and on deceleraton at the breakover from maximum value at L, until a zero velocity is approached at t It should be noted that in the curve E would be negative going due to the inversion in the amplifier and is drawn as shown only for clarity in illustration. If jerk limiting were not required, integration of the voltage E would yield a position-time pattern containing limited velocity and acceleration and unlimited jerk.

After E. equals V has been reached and E equals zero, a step of the input V to zero results in the previous cycle being repeated but with E being clamped to the acceleration limit a of the opposite sign through one of the diodes 175 and 176. This deceleration cycle occurring between intervals times and t appears as a negative E of magnitude minus a on the pot of FIG. 10.

The area under the E vs. time curves is directly related to the top speed commanded, that is E and V. Also, if the initial and final values of E equal zero, the area of acceleration equals the area of deceleration with appropriate correction of the sign of the areas.

In order to meet the constraint of a selected finite value for the rate of change of acceleration, the acceleration vs. time plot must appear as shown at E, in FIG. 10. That is, it must have an initial and a final slope to its maximum rate of acceleration defined by the magnitude of E in order that an object moving in response to the signal will be gradually brought up to the acceleration level dictated, and gradually transferred from the acceleration to a constant velocity. In order that the commanded top speed of the signal be maintained, the area under the newly formed curve should be the same as that under the original E This can be observed by inspection of E and E on FIG. 10 inasmuch as the curves are of equal area.

The jerk limited acceleration pattern is attained using the same type of circuitry as used to obtain the acceleration limited velocity voltage E Thus E is passed from junction point 174 through normally closed relay contact RF-1, input resistor 178 into chopper stabilized amplifier A4 having a gain adjusting resistor 179 connected between its output and its input. The output of amplifier A4 is also connected through resistor 181 to the input of an inverter diiferential amplifier A5 also having a gain adjustment resistor 182 connected from its output to its input. From the output of A5 the signal is passed through resistor 183 to junction point 184.

The signal follows a number of paths from the junction 184 including that through resistor 185 to amplifier A6 functioning as an integrator by virtue of capacitance 186 connected between its output and its input and also supplying through, feedback resistor 187 an input to the amplifier A4 whereby the circuit between A4 and A6 has characteristics similar to those of the circuit between A2 and A3. Jerk limiting of the signal is achieved at junction point 184 by means of diodes 188 and 189 connected to adjustable sources 158 and 159 of negative and positive DC. voltage whereby the signal limits representing the rate of change of acceleration with time or jerk as symbolized by b can be imposed upon the system in an adjustable manner by the appropriate setting of the Potentiometers. The interval of the change in the acceleration, i.e. the interval during which jerk is present, is also monitored at the junction point 184 by absolute value circuit AV3 having a normal ouput [bl indicating the existence of jerk and an inverse output Ibl indicating the absence of jerk, each of these outputs being efiiective to issue a ground signal in the on condition and a negative voltage signal in the OE condition.

Referring to the. curves of FIG. 10 the signal at the output of amplifier A6 is shown as curve E It is this signal that is fed back negatively to the input of amplifier A4 and represents a jerk limited acceleration pattern which can be independently adjusted by varying the clamping voltages a for acceleration, p for jerk and V for velocity at junction points 174, 184 and 164 respectively. The wave form at the junction point 184 with jerk limiting imposed is shown on the plot E of FIG. 10.

Two integrations of the jerk limited acceleration pattern E yields a position time pattern voltage meeting all requirements of jerk, acceleration and velocity limiting. As developed in the present circuits, these limits are independently adjustable by varying their clamping volt ages g, l and X.

The signal E issuing from amplifier A6 as presented in FIG. 10 has been inverted for clarity in relating it to acceleration. Thus that area on the positive side of the origin is in the circuit negative and that on the negative side is positive. That signal is applied to an integrator comprising resistor 191, a chopper stabilized amplifier A7 and capacitance 192 to produce a signal having the form of a velocity command vs. time at terminal 193. This signal has been designated as X as the first derivative of displacement, and it has the wave form corresponding to the velocity vs. time plot of FIG. 10 in all but the final interval extending from time t to time 1;. This termination of the velocity pattern at this time is due to the operation of relay RF to close contact RF-3 as will be discussed below. The eifective amplification level of integrator A7 may be adjustable where it is required to relate or scale the signal values derived therefrom with the feedback values obtained from the driving system for the object being controlled. In the case of an elevator utilizing a position feedback signal as derived from potentiometer 36, the magnitudes of X, can be adjusted at integrator A7 to provide the proper relationship.

The second integration of the signal E is accomplished in the integrator connected through normally closed relay contact RF-4 and comprising resistor 195 to the input of chopper stabilized amplifierAS having its output connected to its input through the capacitance 196. The output of this integrator as it appears at terminal 197 is a plot of position vs. time at suitable voltage levels obtained through the adjustment of the gain of integrator A8 (by means not shown) to match the position voltages derived from the feedback loop of the driven device. This position vs. time signal has been inverted by the amplifier function and is represented at terminal 197 as minus X The present system contemplates accuracies in the control of a moving body of the order of .1 of an inch in a total travel of the car. While as shown above the integration of jerk, acceleration and velocity can be programmed to generate the required position vs. time command signal where these levels of accuracy are required it cannot however be expected to be errorless. In order to overcome these errors, even if they be about two or three inches over the proposed range of travel, the command signal can be based from the destination position rather than from the initiation position provided a transfer to this new base is accomplished without discontinuities in the command signal. As will be shown below, excellent results can be obtained by transferring the command sig nal from the control which generated the pattern from the initiation of travel to a control generating a pattern from the destination or final value at a moment when the ratio of the velocity to the distance from the destination has attained a selected value. In the development which follows, it will be shown that this transfer can be eifected without ambiguity when the ratio of the pattern velocity to the pattern distance to go to the destination is in the relationship of a/ 3b where a is the maximum acceleration and b is the maximum jerk or rate of change of acceleration. As viewed on FIG. 10, this transition occurs at the moment t on the velocity vs. time plot.

The transition of the pattern base from initiation to destination is accomplished by contacts of relay RF when 7 that relay is energized. Energization of the relay is accomplished through a logic circuitry responding to the command or pattern velocity signal X and the command or pattern position signal X as compared to the signal X representative of the location of the destination of the moving body. The computed or pattern position represented by the voltage minus X at terminal 197 is compared with the voltage X at terminal 198 representative of the location of the destination or call request of the movipg body in amplifier A9. The relative values of the voltages monitored in this and the associated circuits necessary to provide the proper ratio as noted above is adjusted by resistances 199 and 201 and voltage divider 202. The summing which occurs by this combination produces a signal which is representative of the distance between the generated pattern position and the actual destination position. This difference signal is compared with the generated pattern velocity X, in amplifier A10. In order to properly relate these signals and maintain the requisite ratios, the gain of amplifier of A9 is adjusted by means of feedback resistor 203 and voltage divider 204.

Signal X is fed to amplifier A10 through resistance 205 and the pattern distance-to-go is fed to-A10 through resistance 206. When the two signal values are equal and therefore the ratio specified above is satisfied, absolute value circuit AV4 receives a zero input signal and therefore issues an on signal on its inverse output lead 207 to or 208, which issues a signal to and 209 over input 211. Signal ST provides a ground to lead 212 when a run is in progress and following the completion of a run until the next run start signal is applied to the pattern. For example the signal ST can be employed as an indication of the proper condition of safeties and interlocks of the system such that it must drop prior to a start and should reappear prior to the time the final portion of a stopping sequence is entered upon by the pattern command. Upon coincidence of a start signal ST applied at terminal 212 as a ground, indicating that the system has a signal to run and is in the process of responding to that signal, and 209 issues an on signal to Schmitt trigger 210 over its output lead 213. The trigger 210 seals the circuit'by applying its output signal over lead 214 to the input or or 208 whereby and 209 is sustained as long as the ST signal is maintained on 212. The inverse output of trigger 210 is applied over lead 215 to power switch PS1 which again inverts the signal providing a ground so that relay RF pulls in. Relay RF is supplied with 12 volts DC. at terminal 216 and is pulled in whenever the circuit is completed through its coil to ground.

The functions of relay RF when energized are best considered with respect to the terminal portions of the stopping sequence and therefore will not be considered until the stopping distance computer shown in block diagram in FIG. 12 and in schematic form in FIG. 13 is considered. As illustrated in FIG. 12, the signal initiating slowdown is derived from two channels, one representative of a stop signal effective during the period the pattern signal is accelerating and the other a stop signal effective during the interval the pattern is generating the maximum velocity. In the case of slowdown from acceleration, a supplemental computer continously predicts the then current stopping position as the velocity and displacement patterns are generated and compares this predicted stopping position with a signal corresponding to the destination position so that when the two match the stop signal is issued. In the case of a maximum velocity run, since the constraints imposed upon the pattern are symmetrical with respect to rate of change of acceleration and acceleration, the transition either from zero to maximum velocity or from maximum velocity to zero consume substantially identical periods of time and involve identical distances of travel. Accordingly, a measurement of the distance between zero and maximum velocity is made during the acceleration interval to maximum velocity and is stored and the pattern distance remaining to be traveled to the destination is continuously generated and compared with the distance to make the transition between zero and maximum velocity so that when the two match, the stop signal is initiated.

A stopping condition can be established from a third state in the pattern computer, that during the change of.

acceleration as the pattern transfers from a constant accelerat on to a constant velocity condition. However, the stopping distances established during this transition are the same as those for the value of final stopping position computed at the termination of the interval in which constant acceleration is maintained inasmuch as the pattern, subject to the jerk constraint, will necessarily follow a decreasing acceleration to zero velocity and a continuation to a constant negative acceleration value in accordance with that computation. Accordingly, if a stop signal is accepted during the transition between maximum acceleration and maximum velocity the last value of final stopping position is employed to control the pattern and that position signal is stored for utilization if required during this interval.

It is evident from the above consideration of the position time pattern generator that the only input parameter that is an independent variable is the velocity signal V. The functions E -t, Eat and E all vary so as to satisfy the velocity command subject to the acceleration and rate of change of acceleration limits 2 and Q. Thus the key to 

